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... the financial and operational results are achieved. The first two years after the acquisition are the most essential in integrating the bank-insurance cultures. The sellers should have a great deal of the responsibility for a successful integration, and variable pricing helps ensure their commitment to this process. The most successful bank/agency relationships take full advantage of the agency's sales culture, and insurance activities are supported by the bank's senior management. The sales culture of a good insurance agency can be a welcome addition to banks as they attempt to orient themselves to more new business. The development of incentive compensation for bank employees for insurance referrals and a strong emphasis on insurance products from the bank's senior management are crucial elements of success. Significant improvements in operating margins have been difficult to achieve. Commercial and Personal P/C ... in the foreseeable future. However, not all banks will elect to pursue insurance distribution as a core part of their business. Developing the appropriate expectations and a comprehensive game plan is essential for success. This article is reproduced by permission from the Property/Casualty edition of The National Underwriter. Robert C. Smith is senior vice president and a principal of Reagan Consulting, Inc., 7 Piedmont Center, Suite 417, Atlanta, GA 30305. He can be reached at (404) 233-5545 or by E-mail at [email protected] . Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to join? Need insurance for you, your business or your family? Get quality appointments - Save yourself a whole lot of time & money ...

...Staff your child care center with senior citizens; Lobby local, state and ...

...ities are supported by the bank's senior management. The sales culture of a go...nal Underwriter. Robert C. Smith is senior vice president and a principal of ...

... tracked, and managed. This is a responsibility appropriately filled by today's financial manager, the steward of the agency's value. What About Your Agency? Regardless of its size, today's insurance agency needs an effective financial manager-a role much broader than that of a bookkeeper or accountant. In large agencies, this role is performed by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), who is usually a member of the senior management team, involved in virtually every strategic decision made in the agency, and ideally has the skills needed to respond to the new challenges. In small and mid-size agencies, this role is likely to be filled by an accountant or bookkeeper, with the senior principal taking a more active role in addressing many of the issues that a CFO would in a larger shop. What role does your ... manager may have responsibility for the accounting, automation, and/or administration departments, but his role has expanded significantly. With the amount and speed of change occurring and the significant pressure on profit margins, the financial manager is having to do much more than ever in the past. In the past, financial managers tracked the agency's overall performance. Today, operating performance is needed on every profit center, department, book of business, and producer. Decisions are made every day on marketing strategies, producer compensation, staffing, and so on. Consequently, detailed and accurate information is required on every aspect of the operation. With the pressure on profit margins, an agency must effectively manage revenues and expenses. As a result, the financial manager is not just tracking receivables, investment income ...

... a 39-year-old employee with more seniority was allowed (26). Where Agencies M...

... responses. Interestingly, the surveyed marketers didn't give technology too much credit for a successful CRM strategy. Only 4% chose technology excellence as their response to the query. Proper metrics weighed in with 8%, and 7% chose organizational design. More than half (51%) of the 197 respondents claimed that the marketing department usually leads CRM at their company (or client companies) . Senior management came in a distant second with 19%, followed by IT (12%), sales (9 %) . Meanwhile, customer relationship management ranked fourth from the bottom on the list of 25 Management Tools compiled by Bain & Company. The survey, which examined the usage, satisfaction, and effectiveness of the 25 most commonly used management tools among 451 senior executives across more than ... ! Communications Marketing Customer Service Planning Finance/Accounting Risk Management Human Resources Selling Legal and E&O Technology Life/Financial Services Glossaries Management Resources & Links Categories Popular Recent All Back CRM Or Marketing?4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM by CompleteMarkets Editor , Patricia Czech This content has not been rated yet. Customer relationship management is a broad term that includes everything from call center routers to complex analytics, and budget allocations and deployments might well depend on individual interpretation. According to Patricia Czech, how enamored companies are with CRM apparently lies in its definition. A number of respondents to a recent survey by Reveries.com defined CRM as "customer relationship marketing," which could explain why 32% of the 191 who responded indicated that marketing strategy was the single biggest reason for ...

...ir company (or client companies). Senior management came in a distant second w...only used management tools among 451 senior executives across more than 30 ind...

...s, Cunningham says. Jack Kwicien, senior vice president, personal insurance ma...